Ask your friends what they think of their dealership’s service department. You’ll get a range of answers, ranging from polite and positive to utter despise (hopefully your store isn’t one of the despicable ones). And if you dare to delve deeper into their experiences, you’ll find out why it isn’t pleasant – it’s often from over-selling.

Take a look at your sales department. It’s become transparent on virtually every level. A car salesperson used to be regarded as low-level scum, trying to scam everyone who came through the dealership’s doors. Now, sales staff have to be the consummate professional, performing follow-up, mastering customer service, and even getting inside their customers’ heads to decipher their needs.

You’re Messing It All Up

Now that the sales department is on track, correcting decades of bad behavior and misconceptions, your service department is holding your dealership back. That is, if you’re recommending unnecessary services.

What is an unnecessary service?

It’s something you wouldn’t sell to your district manager. Does that make sense? Let’s flesh it out a bit.

Most dealerships have developed their own maintenance schedule to make it simple for their staff to sell. The 30k package, 60k package, brake fluid change interval, power steering flush, and so on. It’s loosely based on the manufacturer’s maintenance manual, though not exactly. It may have services bumped ahead sooner or recommended services that aren’t part of the guide.

If your district manager sat down with your maintenance guide, would you be sweating bullets? For example, DOT3 brake fluid is not meant to be changed unless the hydraulic brake system requires repairs. Do you still upsell a brake fluid flush on vehicles with DOT3? Or do your CVT transmissions have lifetime fluid unless repairs are required, yet you still perform transmission fluid changes on your maintenance schedule? These are unnecessary services.

Why is it a problem?

After all, you’re the expert, right? You know best, and your customer should trust you. Even if you believe in the extras you’re selling, it doesn’t coincide with the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance. It shouldn’t be on your maintenance schedule.

The main reason is in your relationship to your customer. It can be decimated by overselling just once, and the internet fuels the fire. More often than you know, customers visit online forums to ask questions and research their vehicle. And you’re probably aware, but the term ‘stealership’ is used extensively on these forums. Guess why? Overselling (combined with high prices).

Combine that with the maintenance schedule available online. You can find the recommended maintenance on the manufacturer’s website, and your customers can too. If the services you’re selling aren’t on there, you’ve destroyed your customer’s confidence in you as the expert. Now you’re just another stealership employee trying to take their money.

How Do You Deal With It?

We know that there are services needed that aren’t always listed on the manufacturer’s maintenance schedule. Take those CVT transmission services for instance. The fluid gets dark and degrades, yet it’s not scheduled for replacement at a specific interval. Do you leave it until the transmission breaks down?

That’s not the answer either, because that doesn’t provide true service for your customer. You should sell it based on condition, not on time or mileage. And that’s tricky.

Get your Techs On Board

In order to sell services based on condition, your technicians need to be thorough without going overboard, or gouging. And because most technicians are flat rate, that can be something that requires monitoring.

Condition-based selling can be done really well by presenting the condition to your customer visually, not just as an explanation. You know this – as a dealership employee, it’s what you’d want for yourself. Show your customers a comparison between a new sample and their vehicle’s condition. It’s nearly always a slam dunk.

Condition-based selling is also a great reinforcement tool to build trust with your customer. You can show them fluid conditions, brake pad levels, and more when they are still in good shape. It shows you’re not blindly selling off a sheet of paper, but showing actual customer service based on their vehicle and its needs.

Audit your maintenance schedule. Compare the items on your list versus your manufacturer’s recommended maintenance and strike off anything that doesn’t match. This doesn’t mean not to sell it. You just need to do it in a way that serves your customer’s needs without contradicting your manufacturer. Otherwise, kiss your customers’ trust goodbye.